Monday, 28 December 2015

For my DT card I cut the London skyline using X-cut manual dies, and cut 2016 on my Silhouette electronic cutter. I tried to create the effect of a firework display using a Sizzix embossing folder and gold mirror card.

I hope you'll come over and see what the rest of the DT have made, and join in the challenge. Happy New Year!

Saturday, 26 December 2015

The fish stamp I've used here was the last stamp left in my Empty Box Project box (although there are some stamps I've used that I haven't blogged yet).

To be honest, I nearly cheated and just put the stamp back in my ordinary stamp storage. It's a nice stamp and I felt sure I would find a use for it eventually...but hold on - that was exactly why I set myself the challenge - I've had it for years and never used it!

I found a scrap of watercolour card on my desk - I'd put it through my die-cutting machine earlier to try out an embossing folder and thought the pattern might work as seaweed. I stamped the fish in Versamark ( as I couldn't really see where I was stamping, it's a bit more random than expected) and embossed in white pearl. Then I watercoloured it in Distress Inks - it wasn't really working until I used the darker Chipped Sapphire colour, then the fishes popped out.

In the end, I quite liked the effect - it reminds me of batik.

On New Year's Day 2015 I blogged about my big box of unused stamps. I have used many of them, binned some of them (for failure to stamp well enough, mostly) and filled a bag for my colleague's little girl...and now, almost a year later, my box is empty!

I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. I like to do a bit of Christmassy crafting actually AT Christmas, so here's my first card for next Christmas.

I used a pre-coloured image from Debbi Moore Santa Claus CD and cropped most of it away to leave just the lower leg and feet. Then I cut the hohoho on the Silhouette cutter. I added glitter to the fur, a scrap of patterned paper, embossed the card base and added a brad.

Friday, 25 December 2015

Yes, it's Christmas Day but some people will still insist on having babies! ( My daughter is a midwife and will be working tonight.)

We have a Christmas baby on the Make My Monday design team, so I'd like to say Happy Birthday to my lovely teammie Caz. This is the card that I sent to her and hopefully she has already received. (It's less blurred in real life!).

I used Clearly Besotted stamps (not sure where the sentiment is from) and one sheet of patterned paper, which I paper-pieced with. I layered a torn piece of embossed vellum behind the image.

Thursday, 24 December 2015

Here are some Christmas presents that I know my 18-year-old twin nieces will appreciate! To make the money gift more special , I cut holders on my Silhouette, using a free cutting file from Daniela Dobson. I used double-side Cosmo Cricket paper and decorated with diecuts I had hanging around.

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Did I mention my daughter likes to 'challenge' me to make cards at short notice? This time she needed 'a new home card for my friend who's moved into a cottage in a village' . 'When do you need it for?' 'Five weeks ago'.

The cottage and cat stamps were just about to be discarded from my Empty Box Project box They are part of a 'build a country scene' set that was free with a magazine and I didn't think I would use them. The challenge was to make a card suitable for a 21st c young woman.

Enter my old friend - paper-piecing- with bright, colourful scrapbook paper, a sentiment from Little Clare, some scribbly colouring using markers, a glittery banner ( cut from the scrapbook paper and stickled), and a flower with a embellishment saying 'new' (very old from my stash).

Monday, 21 December 2015

I'd like to wish a Happy Birthday to my wonderful Inkspirational team-mate, Shauna. This is another card that I hope has beaten the Christmas post and made it across the Atlantic in time.

As well as being a fabulous crafter, Shauna loves to read, so I chose this Gorjuss stamp of a girl on some books. In order to not look like any of the Christmas cards she's received, I made it light and very colourful. The background is a Hero Arts text stamp.

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Today I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my dear Inkspirational team-mate Carol. I really hope this card has beaten the Christmas post and made it across the Atlantic on time.

At this time of year I like to make birthday cards that could not be mistaken for Christmas cards! I used a squirrel stamp (new!!) from Clearly Besotted and a CB sentiment from another set. I used scraps of Cosmo Cricket paper and used just a tiny bit for some paper-piecing on the tail.

Monday, 14 December 2015

This is my DT card for our latest challenge at Make My Monday , 'Wings at Christmas'.

I used an image from A Day for Daisies - not specifically a Christmas image I don't think, but I thought the little sprigs she's holding could pass for mistletoe. I coloured her with markers, added lots of glitter to her wings and paper-pieced her dress. I stamped the sentiment and die-cut some mistletoe with liquid pearl berries. Yes, there is a liquid pearl smudge on one of the leaves - it is hardly noticeable in real-life but seems to have caught the light in the photo!

Sunday, 6 December 2015

I've used a Santa digi from Sassy Cheryl, coloured with alcohol markers. I used a digital version of Carta Bella Christmas Wonderland , which I 'print and cut' on the Silhouette. I added some gloss to the berries.

Saturday, 5 December 2015

I decided to make a picture of a lovely warm drink with a chocolate flake bar melting into it. I die cut the mug, snowflake and sentiment on the Silhouette electronic cutter but couldn't find a cutting file for a chocolate flake, so designed one myself. (I hope those of you who are familiar with the Cadbury's flake can recognise it!)

Our Guest Designer at Inkspirational this time is the hugely talented Jane Willis . I hope you'll come and see what she, and the DT have made, and join in the challenge.

Edited to say: I don't know how the word 'chocolate' got into the title - I only noticed after it was published ! It should say Inkspirational Challenge!!! But I will leave it as it is funny, I think.)

Thursday, 3 December 2015

This card uses two items from my Empty Box Project box . Both the banner and the bird were (different) magazine freebies. The papers I used were freebies too and I think the brad was part of a Secret Santa gift I got at my scrapbooking group years ago. So this is a cheep card! (Yes, I can spell - it's a pun!)

The bird isn't actually a Christmas stamp,so I paper-pieced it to make it look more Christmassy. But, although the paper pack says it's Christmas, when I think about it, this paper could easily be used for other occasions. Thank goodness I've got the words 'Christmas Wishes' on it, or you may not know it was a Chritmas card!

Monday, 30 November 2015

Here's an unusual challenge at Make My Monday - stamp with anything other than a stamp. If you're stuck for ideas, go and visit our challenge blog, where the DT have come up with some fabulous creations.

I decided to make a scrapbook page using my 8-year-old son's latest school photo . (What is going on with his collar?) He looks so grown-up in it that I was reminded of the quote that I have used :
"A child will hold your hand only for a short while, but will hold your heart forever.".

As I had to print the quote, I needed to use paint or ink for the handprint that would leave the text still legible. I used Paper Artsy Fresco translucent paint, painted it onto his hand and pressed it into place. (He enjoyed it, honestly!) . I also stamped with some bubble-wrap in the top left corner.

Sunday, 29 November 2015

Sorry for the poor lighting - don't see much daylight at this time of year!

So I bet you thought I'd given up on my Empty Box Project! A full two months after my last Empty Box Project post, I give you this, using a magazine freebie of cupcakes and a Clearly Besotted sentiment (not free and not from the Empty Box!) .

It's not that I haven't been working on the project, it's just that it has become obvious why the stamps were unused in the first place! My promise was to 'use it or lose it' and so I actually have disposed of quite a lot of stamps. I want that box empty by the end of the year, so just one month left!

Here's another card I made, a couple of weeks ago, using an empty box magazine freebie. It's okay, but I probably won't use it , or the other stamps in the set, again. There are some nice sentiments though.

Here's a card using all the old masking tricks with a punched out circle and torn paper hills. The rabbit (or is it a hare?) is a Personal Impressions stamp. The sentiment was designed by me, using a font on my pc. Then I cut it , and Santa's sleigh ride, on my Silhouette cutting machine.

Here's a one-layer-card using a big word stamp from Paperartsy. The Santa silhouette is by Crafty Impressions and the two star stamps are by ...who knows? I'm just grateful I could find them, as I'm always losing these tiny stamps! I coloured in with a pink Promarker and a silver gel pen.

Saturday, 28 November 2015

What a shame I can't capture the sparkle and shimmer of this card in the photograph!

I used a Paper Artsy stamp and coloured it with markers. I paper-pieced some of the flower-heads ( same paper as the mount) and added Glossy Accents. Other flowers heads were covered with glitter glue or liquid pearl in gold. I stamped the base card with a Darkroom Door Christmas words and numbers stamp and stamped the sentiment.

I've used this vintage photo a lot over the years, and always thought of it as a Christmas shopper, but now I realise that all her packages are wrapped. I suppose she must be shopping in those department stores where they offer to gift-wrap for you! The snow in the picture is not the cold, wet snow that turns into dirty slush and ruins your shoes. Who'd want to go shopping in that?

The photo is from Joanna Sheen Fashion CD. I used a snowfall embossing folder, snowflake punch and the sentiment and building are die-cuts.

Thursday, 26 November 2015

Jingle Belles have challenged us to make a card from our leftover bits and pieces. I made this last weekend at my lovely local crop. The snowglobe digi (Dearie Dolls?) was one I must have printed out at some time and not used - I coloured it with markers and white gel pen. The paper and sentiment were leftovers from two different scrapbooking kits.

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

I have chosen this week's theme at CCCB and it's to use this photo as inspiration:

As you can see, I've made quite a literal interpretation, depicting the (young) Snow Queen herself. She is a digital stamp (coloured with Promarkers) from the Paper Shelter called 'Frost Girl' - I think she's supposed to be tip-toeing but I tilted her and sat her in a die-cut sleigh that I tripled embossed and then stamped a pattern into. I stamped the trees, dry embossed falling snow, die-cut antlers and added lots of glitter.

I hope you'll visit us at City Crafter and see what the DT, and our Special Guest Star, Marcia , have done .... and enter my challenge!

Sunday, 22 November 2015

I decided to make this A Day For Daises digistamp into a feline high-wire act by printing it onto acetate and colouring it with Sharpies. The small sentiment is a Mama Elephant stamp and the large one is a ready-made die-cut and glittered sentiment from a scrapbook range.

One of my favourite things to do with digital images is to play with the size and crop them to give them a different look. This Bugaboo image is of a penguin on skates, but I cropped him to focus on his face and scarf. I coloured him with Promarkers and added a stamped sentiment.

Saturday, 21 November 2015

For my DT card I was inspired by the mittens to create the scene of Santa's washing line. The clothes are from a Woodware set and the washing line pole is by Inky Doodles. I used Promarkers and Frantage embossing powder and glitter shavings. I hand drew the washing line string which sounds very easy but actually took me several attempts to get the clothes and string in the right places!

I wanted to add a little reindeer embellishment but I wanted it to be a similar style to the reindeers in the photo. I have loads of reindeer cutting files, dies and stamps but none seemed quite right, so I took a cutting file of a deer and (electronically) welded some antlers on it!

Please join in our challenge at Inkspirational , but not until after you've checked out the work of our DT and our Guest Designer, Asha.

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About Me

My life isn’t perfect, but if I squint at it in a certain light, I can make it seem so.....
I am a teacher in a further education college. I live with my partner and we have an 10 year old son. I also have a grown up daughter and two grandsons aged 12 and 6 I have fantastic friends and family. I know I am very , very lucky!